Sunday, June 29, 2014

Hello there! You'll notice I don't have a project to share with you today, but I do have something I want to share. I've decided I'm going to discontinue Card Nights and holding events. People are just too busy and unable to commit. If I had just 1 person who was committed every month, I'd continue, but unfortunately that isn't the case. It's with a heavy heart that I made this decision, but it seems times they are a changing. I can remember looking so forward to my monthly Card Night before I was a demonstrator. I knew which night of the month it was and I didn't schedule anything else ever for that night. I totally understand how busy and overcommitted everyone is; I just don't want to keep putting this business ahead of my family and my responsibilities when noone else makes it much of a priority in their lives.

To be honest, I'm a bit relieved this has happened. I don't enjoy holding events. It's extremely stressful for me! I don't like being a leader or teacher and being responsible for everything to go smoothly. I much prefer to share from a distance:) I will continue to blog and share ideas. I'd like to eventually learn how to make videos and maybe offer some on-line classes. But that will be far down the road, if ever. I'm not sure if anybody looks at this anyway, lol.

I will continue to offer 'Cards/Kits To Go', and offer discounted prices for Club Members and downline, but I cannot do the stamping. I've made exceptions for those who give me business but can't attend occasionally, but I'm not in compliance with SU! when I do and I don't want the SU! police to haul me away:(

I will continue to stay an active demonstrator, so if you want to continue to order with me, let me know and we can combine orders to save on shipping when it works out or you can always order online. I will no longer eat the higher shipping charges though($6.95 for orders under $70. Once the total hits $70, the lower 10% shipping kicks in.) If we put an order in as a workshop or Club, it charges the lower shipping amount. I will continue to run Clubs if there's enough people interested, but I don't want to have to send multiple emails requesting orders and payments and I won't tolerate someone holding up everyone elses's orders any longer.

There's so many aspects of my life that I have no control over~like the crappy moods~thank you 'Mentalpause'! But I've decided to take action and do something about the parts that I can change. I'm finally giving myself permission to start enjoying the journey and getting rid of the things that bring me grief. Maybe I've been watching too much Iyanla, but I'm going to own my responsibility in making my life what I want it to be. That way I can let go of the resentment when I try to blame others for my circumstances:) My people-pleasing days are over and I'm going to learn to say no when I want to~thank you menopause for the extra hormones or testosterone or whatever it is that's giving me this fire(literally, sometimes:) I'll probably be horrified in a week when I reread this, but for now I feel like a huge weight has been lifted and I can breathe. I'll see you when I see you. Thanks so much for stopping by:)

Friday, June 27, 2014

Hello there! Just popping in to share this month's Card Night Sneak Peeks with you. The first card is a Get Well card using the Just Sayin'/Word Bubbles Bundle. We'll be breaking out some new DSP & Baker's Twine:)

We'll be making a lovely sympathy card using Thoughts & Prayers and you'll get your hands on the new luxurious Gold Satin Ribbon.

You'll also get to take home a fun birthday card that moves:) It features the brand new set Amazing Birthday and it's perfect for anyone!

We'll be making another card using the set Kinda Eclectic, but I'm still waiting on it to get here.

Card Night will be Thursday, July 3rd. Please let me know by this Sunday, June 29 if you plan to attend. Thanks so much for stopping by!

Saturday, June 21, 2014

Hello there! My mom is getting remarried today and I'm ready 3 hours early, lol, so I thought I'd share the favors I made with you. I used a retired die-Petal Card or something like that. I like to hang onto dies that make quick & easy projects for occasions such as this. You probably noticed these aren't typical wedding colors~they're their high school colors. They got together while planning high school reunions, so they thought this would be a fitting theme.

I used Night of Navy and Daffodil Delight Cardstock. The sentiment is from Sketched Birthday and stamped in Night of Navy I ran them through the Big Shot with the Bitty Banner Framelits to cut them out. I used various DSP Stacks for the decorative paper.

I used Daffodil and Night of Navy Seam Binding and other ribbons as I didn't plan well and ran out of the seam binding. I used the Petite Pennants Builder Punch to pop out 300 pennants and glued them onto toothpicks. That took me longer than I thought and just got them finished up today!

It's a bittersweet day for me. I'm trying to be happy for my mom but my dad is heart-broken over losing the love of his life. He went over and wished her well and told her he hopes she'll be happy. My sister is home from Virginia for the wedding and it's hard to think about all of us being together without him:( I have to sing 3 songs today and I need to keep these kind of thoughts out of my head or I'll be in trouble. Wish me well that I can make it through the ceremony in one piece. Looking forward to that wine afterwards:) Thanks so much for stopping by:)

Friday, June 6, 2014

Hello there! The brand new catalog Product Shares are here and ready to be picked up:) I still have a few spots left if you act fast. The $70 'I Want It All' option is off the table, as not all of the products are still available.

I filled all of the DSP spots, but if enough people are interested, I'll do another share.

That's a lot of paper!

I have 2 spots left in the Ribbon Share. This is the most exciting thing for me. I always get so overwhelmed looking at all the different colors, widths and textures. I never know what I'm going to need for projects that I haven't even thought of yet. This way, I have a drawer full of every new ribbon we carry and can just grab what I need:) I will NOT be doing another Ribbon Share for this catalog~way too much work, lol! If you're wanting a spot, let me know ASAP. You know how I love my ribbon, and I may get too attached and decide to keep it all for myself:) First come, first serve!

I have 2 spots left in the Baker's Twine Share. Again, act fast, because I know I'll use every bit of this.

I have enough for 1 more spot in the Embellies Share, but I decided I'm not going to sort and count out 180 sequins again from 5 colors and 3 different shapes, and I I've become too attached to the new In Color Clothespins. I already know what we're going to do with them for the Bonus project next month:)

So if you're interested in any of the remaining Shares, act fast. If I roll any more ribbon, it's getting done by the week-end! Thanks so much for stopping by:)

Thursday, June 5, 2014

Hello there! Another beautiful day out there:) I wanted to share this sweet little treat holder made with the brand new Fry Box Die. I made this for my Hostess gift this month and hope this will convey my thanks to her:) I ran a piece of Crumb Cake Cardstock through the Big Shot with the die. I then ran a smaller piece of Melon Mambo through again just to cover her front. I ran the Mambo piece back through the Big Shot with the Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder and attached it with SNAIL.

I then punched out 2 wings with the Scallop Oval Punch and ran them through the Big Shot with the Chevron Embossing Folder. I really wanted to use the Scallops Folder from the Occasions Catalog, but realized they retired it~why? why? why? I tucked a little note under her wing stamped with Really Good Greetings in Melon Mambo ink. I punched it out with the Ticket Duo Builder Punch and added a couple of the brand new In Color Sequins~so fun and so sparkly:)

I used the Bird Builder Punch for her ears, the 1" and 1/2" Circle Punches for her eyes. Her eyelashes are made with the Boho Blossom Punch in Basic Black and her beak, with the Petite Pennants Builder Punch in Pumpkin Pie. I popped up her eyes with Dimensionals and added a few Melon Mambo Taffeta Ribbon curls. I added a few fun size candy bars and some shreds to keep everything in place.

I couldn't wait to share this fun little project with you and I hope this gets the wheels turning for lots of other ideas that you can do with this awesome die. Thanks so much for stopping by today:)

Wednesday, June 4, 2014

Hello there! Today I have a super quick & easy favor to share with you. I made these fun little firecrackers which would work perfectly for your 4th of July festivities:) I took a Hersheys nugget and ran a line of SNAIL along the back. I made a little wick out of Basic Black Cardstock and attached it to the SNAIL. I then stuck another nugget to it, back sides together.

I wrapped each firecracker with a strip of the brand new Maritime DSP. The new Fast Fuse runner adhesive holds it perfectly. I stamped the sentiment in Night of Navy with the Sketched Birthday set and cut it out with the Bitty Banners Framelits and the Big Shot. I punched a hole in the end of each banner and stuck it on the wick. I punched out 2 stars for each firecracker in Red Glimmer Paper using the Merry Minis Punch Pack. I stuck a Glue Dot to the back of eack star and attached them to the wick.

You can really knock alot of these out in no time. I hope this helps with any upcoming gatherings you may have. Make sure to check back tomorrow for a super cute idea using the brand new Fry Box Die:) Thanks so much for stopping by!

Tuesday, June 3, 2014

Hello there! Here is the Bonus project that Club Members and my downline get to make at Card Night this Thursday. I made this sweet little box with the brand new Hamburger Box Die found in the NEW catalog! The tags are included on this die as well. I started with a piece of Melon Mambo from the Brights DSP Stack. It's such a snap to put together. I used Liquid Tombow, but I think the new Fast Fuse Adhesive runner will be quicker and strong enough to hold it. I'll be getting some tomorrow, so I'll try it out:)

I ran the paper and die through the Big Shot and it does all the cutting and scoring for you. It takes a little care to fold the corners~I lightly folded along the score lines of the corner pieces. You need to fold the corners in. Once they look like the above photo, I used the Bone Folder on the bottom side of the DSP to make the folds crisp. I then went over all the other fold lines with the Bone Folder to form the box. You then simply add adhesive to the corners to adhere the paper together and then again to adhere to corners to the inside of the box so they lay flat.

I found it helpful to take my Paper Snips and gently enlarge the slits a bit for the tabs to fit through. I filled the box with chocolate and the tabs keep it closed. I then cut out the heart tag in Pumpkin Pie and trimmed it down from the rectangle shape that it was. I stamped the sentiment in Pumpkin Pie as well using A Dozen Thoughts and ran it through the Big Shot. I then wrapped a piece of Bermuda Bay Taffeta Ribbon around the box attaching the tags, tied it in a knot and then tied a bow. I finished it off with a Basic Rhinestone. On the inside lid, I attached the Pumpkin Pie heart from the tag and added another rhinestone as well. Such a quick and easy and fun project! Hope you are getting as excited about the new catalog as I am:) Thanks so much for stopping by!

Sunday, June 1, 2014

Hello there! Here is the last of the cards we'll be making at Card Night this Thursday. I'm so glad this set~Baby, We've Grown carried over from the Occasions Catalog. I just think these owls are a hoot:) I started with a Coastal Cabana base and broke out the brand new Lullaby DSP. I used the Scalloped Tag Topper for the tag and tied a bow through it using the Thick Baker's Twine in Coastal Cabana as well. I used the Banner Punch on both ends of the stripe piece to achieve the arrow, I just put one end of the DSP through the top of the punch.

I've been really excited to get my hands on the new Blendabilities. They really do a great job of covering larger areas. I didn't spend a lot of time working with them yet, but I love the versatility of them. Can't wait to color some Rhinestones and Pearls with them-buttons too! I love that the Color Lifter lets you remove some of the ink to create highlights. I used the Skin Tone Assortment for the bodies and the Coastal Cabana & Daffodil Delight Assortments for the clothes.

***The lids fit pretty snug to keep them from drying out, and they need to be put back on carefully so the tips don't get damaged. I slowly align the cap to the marker before I snap it on. It's best to kind of slide the marker into the cap horizontally, and DEFINITELY A NO-NO TO BANG IT ONTO THE TABLE TO GET THE CAP ON! You also need to use a light touch with these markers. Believe me, plenty of ink comes out and it will help preserve the life of the tips. I've read about how some demonstrators have had their markers ruined the first time they were used:(

You need to use Memento Ink with Blendabilities, and we now carry it along with the Refill. I used the stamp set Just Sayin' for the sentiment and Word Bubbles Framelits to cut it out with the help of the Big Shot. I stamped the sentiment in Baked Brown Sugar onto Hello Honey Cardstock and attached it with a Dimensional. For the inside, I used the brand new Alphabet Rotary Stamp-FUN! There were just enough characters to spell out WELCOME BABY with a heart at the end:) It will be fun to create any kind of sentiment that I need. Make sure to check back in a couple of days for some more fun projects using brand new goodies! Thanks so much for stopping by:)